Rehder, who chairs the House Economic Development Committee, says she’s looked at right-to-work states.

“Those states are the ones increasing in jobs and those states have union membership increasing, while Missouri has had union membership decreasing every single year for the last, what, 30 years,” says Rehder.

Right-to-work says that a person cannot be required to join or refrain from joining a labor organization, as a condition of employment.

Missouri Governor Eric Greitens (R), who campaigned for right-to-work, signed Rehder’s bill in February 2017.

He called the right-to-work bill signing a “great victory” for Missourians, especially those who were looking for work.

Rehder says within 30 days of Greitens signing the bill, companies were calling saying they wanted to move to Missouri.

After the bill was signed in 2017, labor unions and their backers were able to collect enough signatures to place the referendum on the statewide ballot, so Rehder’s bill is essentially on-hold until the ballot measure.

Missourians will cast ballots in November on the right-to-work referendum, unless the Legislature designates a different date for Proposition A.